Concrete grave box



March 26, 1929. H. J. LOTZ cpncns'rs GRAVE BOX Filed Oqt. 1, 1927 Henry' I La+z Patented Mar. 26, 1929-.

V UNITED STA TE S HENRY J. 'LOTZ, or MGKENNA, wnsnmerox.

. CONCRETE GRAVE BOX.

Application .filed October 1, 1927. Serial 1V0. 223,326.

My invention relates to the outer box used in graves and adapted to receive the casket and its outer wooden box. The objects of my invention are, first, to provide such an outer grave box which is made of concrete and yet which is of comparatively light construction; second, to provide a novel means forsealing' the cover of said box to the box, whereby the joint will. be as complete a protection for the contents as the box itself; third, to provide a novel means of impressing the name and other data on the cover of the box; and fourth, to provide a box which is easy and cheap to make, substantially indestructible, and which shall effectively protect the contents.

. Further objects are, first, to provide a sealing means which is already prepared for use before it is applied and which only has to be laid in place and dampened, just before the cover is lowered thereon, to effectively seal the box; second, to provide such a sealing'means which can be prepared a long time before it is used without deterioriation, which can be handled as a separate body before it is used,

and which can be made of indefinite length and from which the required length can be cut; and third, to provide such a sealing means whichis cheap to make, and to prepare and easy to apply.

Further objects are, first, to provide a cover which may be east along time before its use and which, therefore, has no name or other data thereon, and whereon. a portion is prepared to subsequentlyreceive another cement grouting in which the names and data may be impressed, or otherwise formed, While the grouting is plastic or green and just before the cover is lowered on the box;and second, to provide means whereby the additional grouting will be held in its place in the cover and become, subsequently, substantially integral therewith.

I attain these and other objects by the devices and arrangements illustrated in the accompanyin drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved concrete grave box, showing a corner thereof broken away to reveal the interior and its construction; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sealing device before it 1s placed 1n use; and

Fig. 3 is a section of a'portion of my improved concrete grave box, showing the oint between the side thereof and the cover, the seal in the said joint, the means formed in the cover to receive and retain the plastic grouting in place therein and showing a portion of a name impressedin said grouting, and a corner of the woodenouter box for the casket;

and Fig.4 is a perspective view of the under- 7 side of the name-protective cover.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The burialcasket is usually enclosed in an outer wooden box 1, which is first placed in the grave, and into which the casket is lowered after the funeral. In my invention this outer box l may, or may not,.be used, but I have shown it in the drawings. The concrete box, comprlsing my invention, is a monolithic castmg of concrete, having four side walls 2 and a bottom 3, all with a heavy reenforcing wire 4, of fairly large mesh, embedded therein. This box is cast in any desired manner and is provided with a continuous groove 5, prefer-' ably semicircular in section, as shown in Fig. 3, extending entirely around the upper edge of the side walls 2. The box thus formed, is madelarge enough to easily hold the wooden box 1, orthe casket, and may preferably be made in a limited number of sizes, as experience may dictate. h These boxes may be made in advanceof their use "andmay be stored until required, as they do not deteriorate with the assage of time. The walls 2 and 3 are pre erably made quite thin, about one-and a-half inches being the preferred thickness, and therefore the box is comparat1vely l1ght. 1n weight, thrsllghtweight construct on being made possible by the reenforclng of the wire mesh 4. The walls however being of ample strength to properly pro-- tect the casket. f Y

v A-slab or cover 6' is made in similar manner and weight, and 1S alsoreenili'orced by the wire mesh 4; This cover 6 is preferably a straight slab, without groove or'projection on its'iunder side'and is adapted to lie flaton" the top edges of the fou'rwalls 2. In order to seal the connection between" the slab 6 and the walls 2, and in order to secure them together and to render the two pieces into a subvance and stored away in a dry place for a reasonable time. The fabric of which the tube is made is preferably of very loose texture or mesh, and the sewing 8 is. of wide stitching. l/Vhen it is desired to use the seal, a sufficient length of the tubing is cut off therefrom and the ends thereof tied, or otherwise closed, to keep the cement 14 from spilling out therefrom. When the concrete grave box is to be sealed, the said length of tubing 7 is laid in the groove 5 in the walls thereof, with its endsopen, and is then sprinkled with water, which it immediately absorbs. The diameter of the tubing 7, when full of cement,

' is preferably about the same as the diameter of the semicircular groove 5 and therefore the tubing fits neatly therein and extends upward, out of the groove, about one-half of its diameter. As soon as the tubing has been properly placed and wetted, the cover or slab 6 is lowered thereon and rests on the tubing and, since both the fabric and the sewing is open and readily split, the weight of the slab 6 bursts it apart forcing the cement 14 therefrom into the space between the upper end of the walls 2 and the cover 6. Thus the wet cement begins at once to form an impervious seal between the box and the cover, which seal soon becomes as hard as the concrete of the said parts and becomes substantially integral therewith as it enters somewhat into both the contiguous surfaces.

The slab 6, when first cast, is provided with a depression 9 (Fig. 3) on its upper surface near one end thereof, said depression being of such uniform depth as is convenient, and may well be of about one-half inch depth, and is provided with counter-sunk sides 10. When the name and data, which are to be applied to the box, are known this depression 9 is filled with wet cement groutlng 11, to a level slightly above the surface of the slab 6, and then the letters and figures composing the name and other data are impressed in the green grouting by any suitable apparatus, such as that described in my application for patent for block-letter holders, filed under Serial Number 210,246, on August 3rd, 1927, as indicated. by the depressions 12 in the grouting 11. This grouting is protected by a concrete cover 13 (Fig. 4) which is hollowed out to cover the grouting 11, without touching it. The said cover 13 is laid on the box cover 6, over the grouting 11, after the cover 6. has been sealed on the box, as above described, and before the grave is filled. It effectively protects the green and still plastic grouting from being damaged by the earth thrown thereon whenthe grave is filled.

Thus it will be seen that I have devised a concrete grave box, of light construction, which may be prepared a long time in advance of its use, and adapted to receive a suitable plastic grouting just before it is to be used, in which the name, etc., may be impressed; and also a suitable sealing means which may also be prepared in advance of its use and handled without spilling its contents, and which may be applied to form the seal immediately before the cover of the box is lowered thereon, and which is broken open by the weight of the said. cover when so placed in position.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim is 1. A joint for concrete grave boxes comprising a loose mesh fabric tube containing cement, adapted to be laid between the upper edge of the box walls and the lower surface of a flat box cover, and to be dampened, whereby the weight of a flat cover will force the cement from thefabric tube and into contact with the box and its cover to form a binder and seal therefor.

2. A joint for concrete grave boxes comprising a loose mesh fabric tube containing cement and adapted to be dampened and laid in a groove extending around the upper surface of the walls of the box, and extending out therefrom, whereby when a flat cover is laid thereon the weight thereof will force the cement from said fabric tube and into contact. with the box and its cover to form a binder and seal therefor.

3. The art of sealing concrete grave boxes, comprising forming a sealing tube of light fabric; filling said tube withcement; applying the tube to one surface to be sealed; wetting said tube; andapplying the other surface. to be sealed to said wetted tube, whereby the cement material is forcedtherefrom to form a binder and seal for the two said surfaces.

HENRY J LOTZ. 

